Farmington, N.Y. (WHAM) — A new state law going into effect next year is already impacting some people who plan on building homes.
Starting Jan. 1, New York state will require most new buildings to be built for electric heat and appliances.
Some local homebuilders said it’s already causing some projects to be delayed or even canceled.
“You can’t just mandate something without having the ability to actually execute it, and that’s what they’ve done,” said John Graziose, president of Gerber Homes.
One of Gerber’s new communities is Fourmile Creek, a housing development project in Ontario that has been in the works for nearly three years.
“We assumed that there would be electric capacity to go forward,” Graziose said. “And now all of a sudden, without any notice, without any warning, they’re telling us we don’t have enough power to do the whole development, and it’s going to be a significant cost to do that.”
“It certainly is true that without extensive costs, that would be the responsibility of the developer, that there are cases where we don’t have the electricity available today,” said Joe Sayre, manager of economic development for Rochester Gas & Electric and New York State Electric & Gas.
Under the all-electric law, buildings under seven stories will need to be 100% electric, unless a building permit is secured before the end of the year. That includes furnaces, water heaters, stoves, dryers and fireplaces.
The mandate has utility companies caught in the middle.
“It’s just going to be a challenge with our electric grid capacity, and that’s really due to the growth that we’ve already seen and the time it takes to build out electrical infrastructure to sufficiently provide energy to meet those needs,” Sayre said.
The Rochester Home Builders’ Association is asking the state to slow the timeline until builders and utilities are prepared.
“The cost of housing, the price of housing has gone up significantly through a lot of regulations and through the housing shortage and shortage of supply,” said Graziose. “This is only going to make things worse, and it’s probably significantly worse. It’s a disaster.”
13WHAM reached out to the state for comment and received a response from Ken Lovett, senior communications advisor on energy and environment for Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Those concerned about rising home construction costs should join the Governor in calling for Republicans in Congress to put an end to the tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration that are driving costs up on everything from steel and lumber to home appliances. Now is the time for these representatives to end the federal government shutdown, get back to work, and act in the best interests of their constituents, including home builders who are hurting as a result of their tariffs.